Home Blog Week in Review: December 8th Through December 14th

The tree is decorated and all of our holiday obligations are met. It is finally time to settle down in our home and enjoy the holidays. Here is a review of last week’s blog posts. December 8th Home Blog Week in Review: December 1st Through December 7th Today we finally made some real progress with decorating our home for Christmas. The holidays are here! You can expect many more posts about the holidays at home. Meanwhile, check out last week’s blog posts. December 9th How to Host a Yankee Swap If you don’t know what to do with that statue … Continue reading

How to Garden in a Bad Economy 2

If you are gardening the same old way you always have, you might want to think about this a bit. New strategies, techniques and planning may work better in our current economic reality. I’ve already shared with you some ideas for gardening in a bad economy. If you missed that post, click here: How to Garden in a Bad Economy. Now, let’s talk a little more about this. One of the trends that seems to be changing in gardening in the response to the economy is the planting of more perennials. Better Homes & Gardens mentioned this summer that there … Continue reading

Home Month in Review: November 2008

Is your home ready for the holidays and winter? Now that November is over, it is time to gear up for the December ahead. Take a look at last months articles and see if there is anything you missed! November 1st Home Blog Month in Review: October As I sit here looking out my window at the backyard, the birds are hovering in the pine tree against a strong wind and steady rain. The temperature is chilly today, and the calendar reminds me that we have left October behind. November 2nd Fall and Holiday Decorating with Nature 2 Isn’t it … Continue reading

How to Garden in a Bad Economy

Let’s face it, the economy is affecting everything, even gardening. In fact, I think it is increasing the prevalence of gardening, as people look to grow their own food, stay close to home and have activities that don’t cost a lot of money. There are many different ways to garden, and some strategies work better than others when the economy is in a downturn. Here are some ideas about keeping the economy in mind when you garden, getting the most out of your garden and adapting your gardening techniques to the current economic situation. Let’s start with the biggest trend, … Continue reading

How to Save Money on Lipstick

Did you know that during the worst economic times, sales of lipstick tend to go up? This is because lipstick can be a little affordable luxury that makes women feel good without having to spend a lot of money. Lipstick has gotten a bit fancy these days, though, and all of the special formulas can come with a special price, making lipstick more pricey than it was in years past. Still there are ways to save money on lipstick, no matter what your favorite type or color. Rescuing a Bad Lipstick Sometimes you buy a lipstick on impulse, you get … Continue reading

California Proposition Could Reduce Insurance Rates

In California, thousands of people have signed a petition that would give the California Insurance Commissioner the right to reject health insurance rates that are excessive. Several other states have already given their Insurance Commissioners this authority. A group of insurance companies is completely against this proposal, of course. There has been some ongoing issues with health insurance rates in California. In 2011, Blue Shield decided to raise its customer’s health insurance rates by 59%. The insurer said that the rate increase was necessary because the bad economy was making their costs go up. Obviously, a 59% rate hike was … Continue reading

Setting Goals That Work

While owning and operating a home – based business is a remarkable accomplishment in and of itself, it is helpful to set goals for your home – based business so that you can gauge your progress. Setting goals is also a good way to stay motivated. On the other hand, if you always find yourself setting goals and never reaching them, goals can leave you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. The good news is that if you find yourself in the position of not being able to reach the goals that you have set for your home – based business, the … Continue reading

Counting Down to Earth Hour

Eight o’clock sharp is lights out at our home, though this Saturday we may be pushing bedtime back about 30 minutes. My six-year-old will probably sleep through Earth Hour, but it certainly won’t go unnoticed by others in our home. There’s nothing quite like spending Saturday night in the dark in order to support the fight against climate change. For the fourth year in a row, large chunks of the world’s population will power down their tech-heavy lives to celebrate Earth Hour. For 60 minutes beginning at 8:30 p.m. local time the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) is asking that we … Continue reading

Should I hire a lawn service or not?

Some years we have a lawn service to help with the yard. Some years we don’t. This is definitely an on year. In making the decision to hire a person to mow the lawn, we considered several things. In the end, we feel the decision to pay someone else to do the job was a good one. 1. What does the yard look like? Our yard was an absolute mess. Weeds were taking over both the lawn and the flower beds. We couldn’t even keep up the two flower beds at the end of the driveway. The operative word here … Continue reading

Home Week in Review: November 3rd Through November 9th

On Sunday evening, we decided to have an early night. We finished our errands for the day, enjoyed a crock pot meal and then cozied up to a roaring fire. These are the best days to appreciate being home. How did you end your week? November 3rd Home Week in Review: October 27th Through November 2nd Here is the week in review for October 27th through November 2nd. November 4th Bringing the Importance of the Presidential Election Home Just before bed one day last week, my seven-year-old son was asking me about the presidential election. Bouncing my two-year-old on my … Continue reading